simply means without color; before
the invention of color film stock, all films were black and white; monochrome
(literally meaning "one color") usually refers to a film shot
in black and white, although it can refer to a film shot in shades of one
color; grainy B&W is often used to convey authenticity; abbreviated
as BW, B/W, and B&W; contrast to color.

a type of comedy
film, first popular during the late 1950s and early 1960s in which normally
serious subjects, such as war, death, dismemberment, misery, suffering,
or murder, are treated with macabre humor and satire through iconography,
dialogue, and the characters; settings may include cemeteries, war rooms,
funerals

refers to late 40s and early 50s
McCarthyism and the HUAC's (House UnAmerican Activities Committee) formal
and informal discrimination and 'blacklisting' (effectively banning from
employment) of various actors, artists and film-makers based upon their
personal, political, social, or religious beliefs (i.e., "Communist
sympathizers"); the blacklist was a roster of illegal artists who were
not to be hired during the years 1947-1951.

The
Hollywood Ten were a group of playwrights and moviemakers who refused
to answer questions claiming their First Amendment rights, and were charged
with contempt - they included Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Albert Maltz,
Adrian Scott, Samuel Ornitz, Dalton Trumbo, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner
Jr., John Howard Lawson, and Alvah Bessie; also informally blacklisted recently
were Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave for outspoken attitudes

blaxploitation

a combination of the terms "black"
and "exploitation"; refers mainly to sensational, low-budget films
in the 1970's featuring mostly African-American casts (and directors), that
broke the mold of black characterization in feature films; usually emphasized
fads of the time in hairstyles, music and costuming, and also brutality,
sleazy sex, street-life, racist and militant attitudes, etc.

Examples:
Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song (1971), Superfly (1972),
and Ralph Bakshi's animated Coonskin (1975); a documentary titled
Baadasssss Cinema (2003) from the Independent Film Channel by filmmaker
Isaac Julien examined the early 70s and the phenomenon of blaxploitation
films

Blighty

used to refer to Britain

blimp

the sound-deadening housing a noisy movie camera
is put in to prevent the sound equipment from picking up extra sounds

blockbuster

originally referred to a large
bomb that would destroy an entire city block during World War II; now in
common usage, an impactful movie that is a huge financial success - usually
with box-office of more than $200 million (the new benchmark by the early
2000s, after the original mark was $100 million) upon release in North America;
ticket lines for blockbusters literally go around the 'block'; also known
as box-office hit; the term may also refer to a costly film that
must be exceptionally popular in order to recoup its expenses and make a
profit; the opposite of a blockbuster is a bomb, flop, or
turkey. See All-Time Box-Office Bombs/Flops.

Examples:
The term was first applied to Steven Spielberg's Jaws
(1975), often acknowledged as the first blockbuster; James Cameron's
Titanic (1997) was also a massive blockbuster hit. See All-Time Top 100 Box-Office Hits.

blocking a shot (or scene)

the process of figuring out where
the camera goes, how the lights will be arranged, and what the actors' positions
and movements - moment by moment - are for each shot or take;
often, the specific staging of a film's movements are worked out by the
director, often with stand-ins and the lighting crew before actual
shooting

blooper

an actual error or mistake (misplaced
action, or mis-spoken dialogue by a performer), usually embarrassing or
humorous, made by a performer during filming; also known as a goof,
flaw or flub; see also continuity

Examples:
in Jurassic Park (1993), the name of a common dinosaur (Stegosaurus)
was spelled incorrectly; in the cafeteria scene at Mt. Rushmore in North
by Northwest (1959), a boy extra in the cafeteria of Mt. Rushmore
plugs his ears before a gun goes off; or
in The Invisible Man (1933) when Claude Rains strips to avoid police,
he leaves visible shoe prints in the snow; probably the most frequent flub
in films is the appearance of the boom mike

blow-up

an optical process - the enlargement of a photographic
image or film frame; often used to create 70mm release prints from original 35mm films

a special-effects process
whereby actors work in front of an evenly-lit, monochromatic (usually blue
or green) background or screen. The background is then replaced (or
matted) in post-production by chroma-keying or optical printer, allowing
other footage or computer-generated images to form the image; since 1992,
most films use a green-screen

a performer who takes the place
of an actor in scenes that require a close-up of body parts without the
face visible, often for nude scenes requiring exposed close-ups (considered
distasteful by some actors), or scenes requiring physical fitness; not to
be confused with stunt double or stand-in

Example:
Marli Renfro, a hired double for Janet Leigh for test scenes in the shower
scene in Psycho (1960).

Bollywood

refers to the burgeoning film
industry of India, the world's biggest film industry, centered in Bombay
(now Mumbai); the etymology of the word: from Bo(mbay) + (Ho)llywood; unlike
Hollywood, however, Bollywood is a non-existent place.

Example:
Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding (2001), a modern Indian film set in
current-day New Delhi, echoes the Bollywood spirit with typical traits
including music and dance, romance, and comedy. Also the Best Picture winning Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

bookends

a term denoting scenes at the
beginning and end of a film that complement each other and help tie a film
together; aka framing device

a traveling or moveable counter-balanced
pole (also called fishpole or fishing rod), arm, or telescoped
extension device upon which a microphone, light or camera can be suspended
overhead above a scene and outside the frame during filming (by a boom
operator or boom man); for example, a microphone (mike) boom,
a camera boom, or a light boom; the most common film
mistake is the appearance of the boom mike (or its shadow) in the frame;
a mechanical boom mike is known as a 'giraffe.'

Example: A microphone boom stand from the late 40s

boom shot

a continuous single shot made
from a moving boom, assembled like a montage, and incorporating any number
of camera levels and angles.

Example:
Hitchcock used this filming technique for almost all of Rope (1948).

bootleg

an illegally copied, unauthorized,
and/or distributed version of a copyrighted film/video/DVD, often of second-rate
quality; also termed pirated.

Example: a bootlegged DVD version of Star Wars
(1977), mastered using an Asian release of the special edition
laserdisc.

bowdlerize(d)

refers to purging anything considered
disturbing, vulgar, or adult in content in order to make it sanitized for
mass market consumption and appropriate for children; originally a literary
term derived from the name of Englishman Thomas Bowdler who published a
'censored' Family Shakespeare version in the early 1800s.

the measure of the total amount
of money or box-office receipts paid by movie-goers to view a movie;
also referred to as B. O. or gross; usually divided into domestic grosses (unadjusted and adjusted for inflation), and worldwide grosses; films with great box-office
results or a strong and outstanding performance are often termed 'boff',
'boffo', 'boffola', 'whammo', 'hotsy', or 'socko'.